This application claims the priority of German Application No. 198 02 492.4, filed Jan. 23, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a heating or cooling arrangement in a motor vehicle having an equipment block into which a heat exchanger, an evaporator, a condenser or a cooler is inserted, on which inlet and outlet pipes are arranged. The heat exchanger, the evaporator, the condenser or the cooler is slid into the equipment block as a preassembled heating or cooling unit. Such a known arrangement is described, for example, in German Patent Document DE 39 16 816 C2.
Normally, pipe parts are mounted to the corresponding inlets or outlets of the heating or cooling components only after the heating or cooling unit has been built into the equipment block. Subsequently, the pipe parts are connected or fixed by means of screwing to the exterior side of the equipment block or to other parts. For building into the equipment block either a heat exchanger, an evaporator, a condenser or a cooler, it is a disadvantage of the prior art that different joining steps and mounting operations are required. In this case, the unit to be built-in must be rotated until the inlet and outlet connections mounted on the unit are in the correct position for the pipe parts to be mounted. In addition, the tools must be frequently changed and different fastening materials are required for the mounting. After correctly sliding the corresponding unit into the equipment block, the corresponding pipe parts must then be mounted to the connections of the unit provided for this purpose. The complete mounting of the corresponding unit, including the pipe parts, thus takes a long time and has a high cost. Furthermore, the corresponding tools must be available for each working step. The corresponding tools must also be available during the removal of the heat exchanger, evaporator, condenser or cooler for repair or servicing purposes.
The initially cited German Patent Document DE 39 16 816 C2 shows a system for heating a motor vehicle with an equipment block, into which a heat exchanger is inserted which has inlet and outlet pipes. The heat exchanger is slid into the equipment block as a preassembled heating unit and is fixed in it through the use of locking clips. However, the reference does not mention how the inlet and outlet pipes can be held.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a heating or cooling arrangement in a motor vehicle, in which, by using a single joining operation, the unit provided for the equipment block can be built-in or removed again at reasonable cost and in a time-saving manner, without the requirement of additional mounting steps, fastening devices or special tools.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by a heating or cooling arrangement in a motor vehicle having an equipment block into which a heat exchanger, an evaporator, a condenser or a cooler is inserted, on which inlet and outlet pipes are arranged. The heat exchanger, the evaporator, the condenser or the cooler is slid into the equipment block as a preassembled heating or cooling unit. The equipment block is provided with clamping elements by which the inlet and outlet pipes, arranged in a preassembled manner on the heat exchanger, the evaporator, the condenser or the cooler, are connected with the equipment block.
As a result of the fact that the heat exchanger, the evaporator, the condenser or the cooler is pushed-into the equipment block with the preassembled inlet and outlet pipes, the previously required later mounting of the pipe parts to the corresponding unit is avoided. The pipe parts premounted on the heat exchanger, the evaporator, the condenser or the cooler are connected in one working step during the sliding-in of the corresponding unit by using the clamping elements mounted on the equipment block. As the result of the connection of the pipe parts with the clamping elements, the premounted heating or cooling unit is automatically built in the correct position into the equipment block. A faulty building-in is therefore excluded because the precise position of the premounted heating or cooling unit is determined by the mounting opening in the equipment block and the clamping elements. The previously required rotating and displacing is therefore eliminated.
The previously required accommodation of tools in order to screw the pipe parts to the equipment block is eliminated because of the clamping elements already mounted on the equipment block. The previously required storage of corresponding screws and similar material is therefore are superfluous. Because the clamping elements are already connected with the equipment block, a faulty or inaccurate mounting of the pipe parts is prevented.
For mounting the heating or cooling arrangement in a motor vehicle, the use of special tools is no longer required because the sliding of the corresponding premounted unit into the equipment block can be carried out without the use of tools. The connection of the pipe parts with the clamping elements also does not require the aid of a tool. This results in savings of cost and time. Also, during a later demounting for servicing purposes, the corresponding heating and cooling unit can be removed from the equipment block without the use of tools. For this purpose, the pipe parts are detached from the clamping elements and the heating and cooling unit is therefore released from equipment block.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.